Is it OK to disavow directory submissions?
-
I'm currently working on a website that has had a load of spammy links built in the past.
From what I can see, it would be most efficient and effective to disavow everything that's there as all work performed previously is low quality, except for some local directory submissions.
These local directory submissions are likely "no follow" and therefore, I'm wondering is it OK to disavow everything including these local directory submissions, seeing they are no follow anyway?
-
Hi,
As everyone else has mentioned, nofollowed links are not passing PageRank and therefore should not be influencing search visibility as assessed by the Google Algorithm. If there is no manual action in place then there should be no reason to disavow them.
However, I look very differently at nofollowed links in the backlink profile of a site that has a manual action in place. In that case I ask two questions:
-
Is the site one that is in any way undesirable?
-
Are the nofollowed links part of an obvious large-scale manipulative effort?
If the answer to either or both of these questions is yes, then I choose to both attempt to get the links removed and also disavow. The reason for this: of course I don't want links from dubious sites which even though not passing PageRank could be doing damage to my brand and reputation and; when asking for reconsideration (judged by a real human being conducting a manual review) I believe that ignoring links that were obviously placed with the intention of manipulating search rankings simply because it didn't work, hardly shows a commitment to the "good faith effort" expected by the Webspam team. So, I go to the extra effort to try to remove and also disavow.
Marie is quite correct in suggesting that there are cases where links on some pages are followed and on other pages nofollowed - in fact we see instances at rmoov where URLs that contain multiple links to a site are actually a mix of followed and nofollowed links as well. As suggested ...you have no control over those links at all, so once you have decided which ones really need to be dealt with disavowing is the safest option available unless you can actually get them removed.
Again, I think the point has been fairly well made above ...Local directories are not all bad. Check for compliance with the Webmaster Quality Guidelines (which for paid directories includes a clear statement in their terms of service which indicates that you are paying for a site review and not for inclusion). The most relevant Guideline is the one about what Google views as "Link Schemes"
Hope that helps,
Sha
-
-
There is no need to disavow nofollowed links as they are not passing pagerank. However, there is no harm in doing this if you want to be sure. It is in theory possible that a site has nofollowed links on one page and followed on another. Or, in some cases, they could decide to change their structure and follow their links. But, in general I ignore nofollowed links when it comes to doing an audit.
-
To stay ahead of any future Google algorithm changes, I would disavow any links now that could seem questionable and hurt you in the future. But what is "questionable" is a complicated question. I would ask yourself these questions for every directory link you have gained:
1. Would I want this link if Google did not exist? (i.e., would the link send me valuable referred traffic anyway?)
2. Is this link curated by a human who is an expert in the field and who does not accept each and every submission?
3. If this link is being paid for, does it not pass PageRank (i.e., is it a no-follow link that adheres to Google's guidelines as such)?
If the answer is "yes" to all three questions, the link is usually safe. Since this is not the case with nearly all generic directories, I would likely want to disavow nearly all of them.
Note: You say that the links are no-follow, but that tag is still under the control of the directory websites and could change in the future (though likely it won't). I'd still disavow them just to be safe because you have no control over those links or what those sites may do in the future. However, this is a low priority since the links are no-follow -- I'd focus first on disavowing worse backlinks or doing your own positive online-marketing work to build your site further.
-
Unless you know you have had a penalty, or suspect you have, then I would be tempted not to disavow.
You say a lot of the links are low quality - what are you using to determine what quality the links are? As Chris said, directories aren't all bad, and some can be a real plus, so evaluate what you have before just removing them via disavow.
Tread a little carefully as I have seen sites get disavow-happy and kill all links, with a resulting drop from the SERPs.
-Andy
-
Hiya Gavo,
When you disavow you're essentially turning any links into no follow links so there isn't much point in disavowing no following links as it just makes more effort. You can however disavow as much or as little as you want but if you've not had a penalty it's best not to get too merry with that disavow list as you may find your position will drop (unless you counter it as you disavow).
Remember Directories are not all evil sometime they are okay, e.g yahoo & yell etc. if your niche finds you through a directory then in fact its good. Its the spammy directories Google's not keen on, so bare that in mind if people are finding you through the local listing.
So the things you want to ask your self is:
Do I have a penalty?
If I do what's caused it?
If I don't can I prevent one by removing links?
Am I getting referrals from these links, would be be better to keep the links and no-follow them ?
Best of Luck.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Unsolved My website www.boultaudio.com, but my toxic backlinks kept on increasing, even if i disavow the links? @s
My website best wearable brand is showing decrease in High Quality Backlinks.
Link Building | | blayze010 -
Should I disavow these links?
Hi all, I have a ski website that I am currently performing a toxic backlink audit on. I have noted that a lot of the links being flagged as toxic/spammy by the tool I am using seem to be the same/similar sites with different URLs. The sites are vaguely related to skiing (relating to helicopter travel options for travelling to ski resorts) but it is concerning me that there are so many of them and they are being flagged as so toxic.
Link Building | | SolveWebMedia
Do you think it is worth disavowing these? Or contacting the owner to ask them to remove the link? I have included an example of some of the links below. https://www.cannes-helicopters.co.uk/index.php?menuopen=21&showcontent=5
https://nice-helicopter.co.uk/index.php?menuopen=21&showcontent=5
https://monaco-helicopter.co.uk/index.php?menuopen=21&showcontent=5 Slightly different site but same favicon icon:
https://monaco-helicopter.co.uk/index.php?menuopen=21&showcontent=5
https://www.whitetracks-holidays.com/Helicopter_Transfers_Villars_Switzerland.htm Thanks in advance for any advice / help!0 -
To disavow or Not to disavow is the question?
OK, I have done some analysis of my site and it seems quite clear that I have been hit by Penguin and this is largely down to my link building strategy. My question now is; 1. Do I try to undo the damage by disavowing toxic links I have identified, or 2. Do I just accept what is and ensure that from here on in I follow natural backlink acquisition? Thanks
Link Building | | UnderMe0 -
Removing Links From Spammy Directories
Hi all, I just wanted to check with you all about removing links from spammy directories. We have 100s of links from directories like this http://www.groundanchors.co.uk/ all the same layout and registered to the same person. I just wanted to know if our rankings will be affected in any way by removing these links - bearing in mind there are 100s of them. Many thanks.
Link Building | | AAttias0 -
Which directories to use?
I've recently has a conversation with a colleague regarding which directories to use when link building. In her opinion we should use only the ones that are relevant and nothing else. For example if you're working on a travel website, you should only submit either to travel directories or local directories (based on the business location). In my opinion yes we should submit to these directories but then you'll reach a limit and then you need to submit to general directories that have the "travel" category, even if the business is in NY and the directory is in India, as long as it is a good directory and has the relevant category. What is your opinion about this?
Link Building | | blablabla20130 -
Is the whoisbusinesslistings.com directory a good place to get a link?
I stumbled across the whoisbusinesslistings.com directory and noticed that it's home page is page rank 4 and in the listing it allows do follow links to your site. They don't have pricing listed on the site though which scares me. Only a link to a sales person. Anyone know how much they charge and if it would be worth looking into? Thanks mozzers! Ron10
Link Building | | Ron100 -
What to look for in paid directories
I was looking through some of the directories in the seomoz directory list and a lot of them are paid directories. What should i be looking for to decide if these directories are worth paying for a link? obviously if the page my link is listed on is in fact indexed by google. What about the following questions: 1. what about page rank of the page that it's on? Does that matter? i've heard that one page rank 5 link carries the weight of hundreds of page rank zero links. Is this true? 2. What does it mean if the page rank is unranked? Is it worth paying for a link if the page is old and is unranked? 3. i read in an SEO forum that there are many other things i should look at in a directory besides page rank. Obviously traffic is one but what about other not so obvious things? 4. How many directory links at one time is too many? how many is too many over a long period of time? THanks in advance for your help Mozzers! Ron10
Link Building | | Ron100 -
Renting Directory Listings
Is anyone aware of services that allow the renting of directory listings? Someone explained the concept to me and I am trying to find a good source for directory rental links. Thanks
Link Building | | jenadams0